35mm Film Scanning

How to fix colors when scanning 35mm Film Negatives

2009-11-15T00:01:00.003+01:00

It can seem difficult to capture the natural colors when scanning film negatives. The film brand, the production batch, storage and the light conditions when photographing will give each film (and even individual frames) a unique color signature.

Most scanner software (like SilverFast and VueScan) have predefined profile settings for many common film brands. Unfortunately, the predefined settings will not match the film you are scanning, due the reasons outlined above.

A step-by-step color correction guide for Negative Film scanning.

The SilverFast scanner software is used in this guide.

Perform a Prescan

Select Film type and Exposure in SilverFast, click "Auto" and "CCR":

Click the "Image Auto Adjust" button:

Make only minor adjustments to Brightness, Contrast and Saturation to avoid loosing dynamic range:

If the colors still does not feel right, click the Color Histogram button:

For each of the color channels (the black, red, green and blue buttons):

Carefully adjust the left- and right-most arrow symbol until they reach the first slope on their end of the histogram curve.

Then carefully make minor adjustment using the middle arrow.

Look at the prescanned image while you are doing this and notice the effect of the adjustments on each color channel. Notice how the red button adjusts Cyan/Red, green button Magenta/Green and the blue button Yellow/Blue.

Try the color histogram adjustments several times, you will soon get the hang of it.

Remember that you potentially carry the best tools yourself, your eyes should be the final judge!

SilverFast will remember your settings for the next frame, and this is normally what you want as the color profile in sequential frames often is very similar.

Color Histogram adjustments can also be done after scanning in programs like Photoshop or PaintShop Pro. It is however very handy to make basic color correction when scanning as it is much faster than postprocessing.

What Resolution (DPI) should I use when scanning Negatives or Slides?

2009-11-09T23:47:00.001+01:00

Deciding what resolution you should use when scanning negatives and slides might be difficult, but if you have a relatively fast scanner, a decent computer and hard disk space, a simple answer exists.

If you want a straight to the point, no fuzz answer, use 3600 dpi when scanning a film frame.

This resolution gives you a Decent scanning speed, Very good quality and a File size you can handle.

Scanning speed

The actual scan speed per film frame depends almost entirely on your scanner hardware, and not your computer speed. A low, to medium prized consumer scanner as of 2009 (e.g. a Plustek OpticFilm7600i, priced at around USD 290), will scan a single frame and store it to a JPG file in 40-50 seconds.

The Quality

I spent a long time researching and testing scans on different films before ending up using 3600 dpi as my standard setting. It can be tempting to lower the dpi setting to get a faster scanning speed, but there is a downside to that. I would occasionally find pixelization/jagged edges when magnifying the photo, even on ASA 200 negative films (which is the film type I historically have used the most).

Instead of making a decision on what resolution I should use on each scan, it is much more convenient to just set it at a level high enough to make feel comfortable at all times.

If I keep changing the resolution for each and every photo frame, there is one more tweak to remember - and honestly, I will just forget to adjust it when I really do need it!

I also have the GANE filter activated in my SilverFast scanner software, when scanning at this resolution. This will reduce any grains resulting from visible chemical film material that might show up.

The final digitized picture will be ca. 5000x3200 pixels.

The File Size

When I save to jpg format, as I normally do, a scan like this will result in a file of between 2.5MB - 10MB depending on jpg compression setting (max 10-20% loss, i.e. "High Quality" jpeg)

This is a comfortable file size for most people and is on the same level as a similar photo taken with a modern digital 15 megapixel SLR.

End of story?

There are times when 3000-4000 dpi scanning resolution is a total overkill. I found a film that I used with a single-use underwater camera, probably equipped with a cheap 800-1000ASA film. I gather it would probably be good enough with a 1200 dpi for this one. The end result was actually better than a scan at higher resolution.

After I some experience, it has become more natural for me to adjust the resolution for whole film rolls, and even for individual film frames now and then. Not only do I do this occasionally for bad quality fast films (I do not have many of those), but also for things like low light photos.

The point is - I feel I cannot really go wrong with the 3500 - 4000 dpi setting and it is more than good enough for standard consumer negative films (100, 200, 400, 800 ASA).

10 Very Basic Rules when Scanning Film Negatives and Slides

2009-11-08T22:21:00.000+01:00

Have fun! Treat scanning as an enjoyable hobby. This is not your job! Listen to some of your favourite music while you are at it :)
Be patient and take your time.
Learn to use the scanner software, even if it seems difficult in the beginning.
Wash your hands with warm water and soap before handling films.
Touch the sides of film negatives only. Handle your films with care.
Use a Bulb Blower to remove dust from films. You will typically get this with your SLR camera, and it is very cheap. Do not blow on the film to remove dust, as small wet drops will be visible on the final result!
Be very very careful if you are about to clean a negative film or a slide. It is possible, but if you do not have the right equipment, chances are high that you WILL DAMAGE the film/slide! More often than not you are better off doing some post processing of the scanned image. Very dirty films can be cleaned, but you really must know what you are doing. Do not attempt to clean the films with a cloth or paper, you will only end up making bad scratch marks. A very soft specialized cloth can be used as long as it is new, but it's quality will quickly degrade.
Never - ever use your fingers in an attempt to clean the films! This is true even if you have very carefully washed your hands. It is very tempting to give this a try if you spot a small hair or similar, but I am telling you; You Will Regret it.
Use a white surface or a lightboard when sorting negatives. A good working lamp helps a lot.
Do not scan every photo you have. You don't really want to keep that blurry photo of your neighbour's car.

Scanning 35 mm film with Plustek OpticFilm 7600i - First impressions

2009-11-08T15:10:00.003+01:00

What kind of results and quality can you expect to get when scanning 35 mm negatives using a hobby based scanner?

This depend on the quality of the film, the scanner you use, the scanner software and many other factors.

The photo in this article is from a scanned negative. It is typical of the result I get using a Plustek OpticFilm 7600i and the Silverfast scanner software that comes bundled with the scanner when you buy it.

This negative is scanned in a high resolution (5032x3379 pixels, i.e. higher resolution than many digital SLR cameras). That means the full size of the resulting photo is roughly 3 times my 24 inch screen if viewed in 100% size on the screen! This is a bit overkill really, but I do prefer to scan in a higher resolution than I feel I really do need. The film is 200 ASA.

Here is the full photo (not full resolution though. This one is resized to 1024px width)

Click on image to see larger version

This is a cropped version

Click on image to see larger version

And here is a small detail in full resolution

Click on image to see larger version

This 35 mm negative photo has some bad scratch marks, and I did use the hardware base scratch removal of the scanner. You can still see some of the scratches going horizontally. Sometimes the scratch removal works wonders and there are almost no traces left. In other photos, they can still be visible - as in this photo.

Still - Much better than not using scratch removal!

How can I Rescue all my old 35mm Negative Films and Slides?

2009-11-07T18:51:00.009+01:00

The short story on why I decided to start scanning my old negative films and slides - and have fun at the same time! I love a hobby with some challenges, and this very true when scanning films. But the best part is finding photos I totally forgot I had. It is just like living parts of my life once more. If you found this page, my guess is you have similar motives to start scanning.

In this age and day where everyone and their mother (literally) is flashing their digital cameras encapturing 1000's of photos it is annoying for people like myself looking at all the boxes containing 35mm negatives and mounted slides.

The second Law of Thermodynamics comes out to play

Every month passing without anything is done with my old precious, the quality of the poor old photos is degrading. Typically noticed on the paper copies first, but the processed films are vulnerable too. If you are like me, photographs is one of the greatest tools we have that help us maintain our memory, it is Your Life sitting there beeing degraded gradually. I for one am not letting that happen!

Scratches, fingermarks, dust that sticks, sunlight, the odd drops of Coca Cola (!) - or even worse - frightens any keen hobby photographer to the bones.

Fortunately I do not need Cyborg Implants to salvage my 35mm's and keep my memory all Fresh and Cool

So, OK a few weeks back I decided to get my hands on a decent 35mm Film Scanner for home use. This post is the first in a series that hopefully will be useful to other keen photographers.

I ordered a Plustek OpticFilm 7600i from a German web shop after reading some reviews and checking around. I live in Oslo, Norway (northernmost European country for those of you not staring at the globe map all day) - so ordering electronics from the US is often not possible.

If you are in the US or otherwise able to, I would recommend ordering from Amazon.com as they have a nice selection of Plustek film scanners.

The box contains the Scanner, a Carrying Bag, One Mounted Slide Holder for 35mm slides, One Filmstrip holder for 35mm standard negative film, an USB cable, a Power Adapter, Quick Guide, Scanner Software on CD-ROM (LaserSoft SilverFast), Setup CD for scanner driver and other utility applications.

Plustek OpticFilm 7600i Box Content

The Scanner itself has a nice size and fits in rather tight places, but you will need at least 25 cm (that should be about 8 inches for any US readers dropping by) on each side. The film holder fits in a hinged slot and you have to manually move it sideways to advance from one picture and the next. If you do not have enough space on the sides you might damage the holders as they are a bit fragile beeing made of plastic (spare holders are easily available though).

The bag is OK, a bit stiff and not superb quality, but I did not buy this thing for the bag anyways so why worry about it.

The installation of the drivers and scanner software all went nicely, but you absolutely not have to install the utility program Presto Page Manager. It might well confuse you more than it helps you. But it is free bundle for those are into these things.

Up and Ready for play!

After a few minutes everything was setup nicely and I was ready to dig my old boxes of film from the basement! I must admit I was excited as a child on Christmas Eve :)

The film scanner on the right hand side of my cramped desk!

On the computer screen I am playing music from Spotify so don't get confused.

Making ready for my first scan tests

The film mount holder has room for 35mm films with up to 6 photos. Normally I have strips holding from 1 to 4 photos. A lot of my old films are a bit bulgy, having a u-shaped form. This makes placing the film into the holder a bit awkward, but practice helps. The holder contains just a open slot so the film slides sideways wuite easily too, until you close the hinged lid. Then it sits firmly.

Mounting 35mm film in the holder

I have now spent quite a few hours experimenting and scanning negative films and in a later post I will share a little of my experience and show some results.

NEXT: Scanning 35 mm film with Plustek OpticFilm 7600i - First impressions